Erik Karlsson has been traded to Pittsburgh Penguins

This morning, a long awaited trade finally came to fruition. According to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, Erik Karlsson is being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, with the Montreal Canadiens acting as financial brokers.

The massive challenge surrounding this trade was always Karlsson's monster contract - 11 million dollars over the next four seasons - but now with the Penguins, Karlsson's undeniable talents will be used for a team in playoff contention.

The full trade details still are not known at the time of writing, but Mikael Granlund will be sent back to the Sharks, while Jeff Petry will be heading back to the Canadiens. As the third party in the trade, the Canadiens may receive additional assets, and potentially retained some of Karlsson's contract.


Now 33 years old and coming off a Norris winning resurgent year in his career, Erik Karlsson has received his long-standing trade request and will be able to greatly boost the Penguins offensively. However, coming off their first season not making the playoffs since 2006. Now, Kyle Dubas and the Penguins are taking the bet that Erik Karlsson can be enough to push them back into playoff contention.

Moments ago, Frank Seravalli broke the full details of the trade. Pittsburgh will part with Casey DeSmith, Mikael Granlund, Jeff Petry, and a first round pick. Players will be going to both Montreal and San Jose to make the deal work financially.